Why 2017 is going to be a huge year for Halifax

Tuesday, January 3, 2017 – 11:45 – 2017 is shaping up to be a hallmark year for Canada and Halifax alike. With Canada celebrating its 150th anniversary of Confederation, celebrations are already underway nationwide – including here in Halifax where Canada 150 is just the start. Halifax is hosting unique and truly special events such as Rendez-Vouz 2017 Tall Ships Regatta and the Halifax Explosion Memorial 100th Anniversary.

Destination Halifax is planning to capitalize on these activities and above all, encourage visitation, with a new campaign called “The Top 17 Reasons to Visit Halifax in 2017”, complete with New Year’s TV ads, digital advertising and a social media campaign.

“This is essentially a campaign highlighting all the amazing reasons you have to come to Halifax, with the rationale being: if you have ever thought about visiting Halifax, 2017 is absolutely the year to do it,” says Erica Pellerin, VP Marketing & Communications, Destination Halifax.

Already a huge draw for Halifax, welcoming over 100,000 visitors in 2015, the Halifax Citadel National Historic Site will have free entry for the entire year, thanks to a recent Parks Canada announcement stating that admission to Canada’s National Parks, Historic Sites and Marine Conservation areas are free for 2017.

More exciting Halifax developments in 2017 include the opening of the brand new Discovery Centre, located on the Halifax waterfront and the first and only IKEA to open in Atlantic Canada in late 2017. Future development in Halifax includes Queen’s Marque, the Halifax Convention Centre and various hotels and residential buildings.

“Halifax has so much to offer: a vibrant and growing downtown, festivals, marquis events, wild natural places to explore and ecotourism opportunities. We are so excited to see what 2017 holds for us from an economic and tourism standpoint,” said Major Mike Savage, Halifax, NS.

Not only is 2017 anticipated to be an outstanding year, 2016 was an excellent year as well.

2016 saw an increase of just over 7% in overall cruise passenger count, bringing in 238,217 guests arriving on 136 cruise vessels.
2016 is the third consecutive year of growth with room nights being up 12.4% since 2013.

Halifax is up 3.8% on room nights in 2016 and welcomes 5.3 million yearly visitors.
“We are so proud of the increased visitation numbers, room nights booked and cruise passenger count, but most importantly we are proud of the momentum surrounding Halifax and the positive feedback we continue to receive daily from our visitors,” said Ross Jefferson, President & CEO, Destination Halifax.

About Destination Halifax

Destination Halifax is non-profit, membership-based sales and marketing organization in partnership with the Halifax regional government, the Hotel Association of Nova Scotia and participating industry members. Since its inception in 2002, Destination Halifax has operated with a goal of promoting the Halifax region as a destination of choice for meetings and conventions and leisure visitation

Halifax welcomes 5.3 million overnight stays per year each year who spend $1 billion. Halifax alone represents over 54% of all visitations to Nova Scotia and 24,000 Nova Scotians work in the tourism industry.